My driver's door exterior handle suddenly is getting loose. It's still functional but can be moved on the door about a 1/4 inch in several directions.

I'm guessing the handle is screwed tight from inside the interior door card, correct?

 

I noticed my rear passenger door is doing the same thing. I opened it up and noticed that there are 7mm bolts that hold the handle into place onto a bracket. Yours may just be loose but mine there as only one bolt holding it in that I could see and I could see I was missing one but couldn't find it in the door anywhere.

 

Yes. From memory, on the back of the handle there are 2 threaded studs. There is a clamping bracket that fits over the studs and is held with flange nuts (8mm I think) and presses against the inside of the door skin (a strengthened part). A ratchet spanner is very handy for this job.

 

After further inspection and internet research, it appears that the reason I now have some slack in my driver's exterior handle is that the handle gasket has deteriorated and crumbled away. The other 3 handle gaskets are not far behind.

Coventry West offers a pair of aftermarket gaskets for $80, which seems silly high for the product. So my plan for now will be to try to use some flat rubber spline wedged in between the handle and door providing the temporary weatherproofing and tighter fit I need.

Ultimately, I guess I'll need to spend $160 and a day pulling door cards and replacing the gaskets.